Tohoku University and the National University of Uzbekistan (NUUz) formally inaugurated the Japan Education and Culture Research Center on September 21, 2026, in Tashkent, marking a significant expansion of academic ties between Japan and Central Asia. The new center is designed to serve as a dedicated hub for research, education, and cultural exchange, built on collaboration between Tohoku University’s Graduate School of Education and NUUz.
The inauguration ceremony brought together senior leaders from both institutions. Representing NUUz were President Madjidov Inom Urishevich, Vice President Toshmatov Shoohrat Amonovich, Vice President Inakov Komil Qadirjanovich, and Dean Bakiev Khabibulla of the Faculty of Foreign Languages. From Tohoku University, attendees included Dean and Professor Kojima and Professor Shiho of the Graduate School of Education, Professor Onuki of the Graduate School of Arts and Letters, and Professors Toma and Kakinuma of the Frontier Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences. Officials used the occasion to discuss concrete steps for shaping future joint activities.
The center forms a key part of the broader “Tohoku University × National University of Uzbekistan: Central Asia International Collaboration Consortium.” Its mandate extends beyond bilateral exchange. Planners intend it to function as a collaborative node linked to Tohoku University’s existing Central Asia Office, with the longer-term goal of expanding networks to universities and research institutions across the region. Education and cultural studies will provide the foundational pillars, while the center also aims to support interdisciplinary research, joint educational programs, human-resource development, student and researcher mobility, and engagement with wider society.
The launch builds on a series of recent academic exchange initiatives. In April 2026, Tohoku University’s Graduate School of Education hosted the “Tohoku University × National University of Uzbekistan International Academic Exchange Meeting.” Participants examined institutional collaboration opportunities and ways to strengthen academic links between Central Asia and Japan. Two months later, in June 2026, the same graduate school organized “Interdisciplinary Research from Central Asia to the World.” Researchers from education, cultural studies, linguistics, environmental science, disaster science, and astronomy took part. Discussions focused on concrete interdisciplinary projects centered on Central Asia and helped lay the groundwork for the new research center.
The day after the inauguration, NUUz hosted an international conference titled “Advancing Academic Exchange between Central Asia and Japan.” Building on the April meeting, participants explored joint education and research projects and ways to broaden academic exchange. During the conference, the Faculty of Social Sciences (Department of Education) and the Faculty of Foreign Languages at NUUz signed an “Agreement on Academic Exchange” with Tohoku University’s Graduate School of Education. The agreement commits the partners to joint activities in education and research, faculty and researcher exchange, student educational and research exchanges, cooperation on academic events, sharing of academic information and publications, and the joint organization of lectures, international conferences, seminars, and related activities.
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University representatives described the center and the accompanying agreement as important milestones that consolidate the academic exchange efforts begun earlier in 2026. Moving forward, the two universities plan to deepen collaboration in education and research, increase joint research projects, expand opportunities for student and researcher mobility, and cultivate the next generation of specialists. Through these activities they aim to develop an international collaboration network centered on the two institutions and to contribute to sustained academic and cultural exchange between Japan and Central Asia.
The Japan Education and Culture Research Center is expected to act both as a gateway for international exchange and as a knowledge hub. By combining educational expertise with interdisciplinary approaches, it seeks to generate research relevant to Central Asian societies while fostering mutual understanding between Japanese and Central Asian academic communities. Officials from both sides emphasized that the partnership will remain flexible, allowing new partners and themes to be incorporated as regional needs and research opportunities evolve.
The establishment of this dedicated research center signals a maturing relationship between Tohoku University and the National University of Uzbekistan and positions both institutions to play a more active role in connecting Japanese higher education with the dynamic academic landscape of Central Asia.
